Damien Mulley

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Or bad ones? Or any? Thought not. Welcome to Ireland and the fact that we as a country are obsessed with voting on abortion yet for a country that has sent an estimated 120,000 Irish women abroad over the past 30 years, there doesn’t seem to be anymore to the discussion than right, wrong, age of foetus and the definition of “unborn”. Five referenda in 20 years and it feels like another one is right around the corner again. 120,000 stories yet do we hear of any of them except the ones from the various Court cases?

Both sides seem to concentrate their time on legalising it or further removing the right of people to get an abortion where it is legal and can be carried out. I really don’t seem to see either side working hard and especially not together in preventing unwanted pregnancies. Are they too enraptured with taking polar opposites and getting personal? It seems they are. 30-40 years of battling seems to have polarised both sides too. The fact that there are “sides” says it all.

One of the groups (via Suzy) has decided to take up blogging and video making to talk about the lack of talk. The videos are a good idea as is the blog but I think they made a large enough error with the videos. Where to next? It shouldn’t be ended with everyone saying the same statement. That’s just an advert. Where’s the call to arms? We get the idea of the silence and the taboo of abortion so what now? There should have been an action point there and then for people to leave a comment, sign up to a list, make a call etc. The most opportune time is the seconds after the video.

Remember this video? From this post?

Apparently the original creator of it is going to report me to YouTube for putting it back up when they took it down. I only saw their message on YouTube now:

As the original creater of the video and copyright holder of all the pictures contained in it I must ask you to remove the video before I am forced to report this infringement to YouTube!!

It’s that second exclamation mark that’s worrying me. And I thought I was a friend to Fianna Fáil since I think Enda Kenny is a tosser? I mean what’s wrong with it? It just shows the future Taoisigh of the country unwinding. They’re allowed to do that without the PC firebrigade burning down the doghouse, who let them out. Oooh oooh. Or something. GetwhatImean?

So with haste, watch this once more and tap that toe to the Saw Doctors.

Just looking at the Standards in Public Office report and who got what. Very interesting that the person that got the 3rd highest donations was everyone’s fav Catholic, Ronán Mullen. There must have been a lot of closet fans of Ronan so.

So here’s how this donation thing works:
TDs, Senators and MEPs must disclose individual donations of over €634.87.
Foreign or anonymous donations cannot exceed €126.97
Donations from a single person cap out at €2,539.48 pear year.

Photo owned by atbartlett (cc)

Via Ireland.com

The person disclosing the highest donations was Fianna Fáil TD for Wicklow Joe Behan, who received €37,600. Minister of State for Trade and Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness was second with €32,500.

Independent Senator Rónán Mullen, whose donations were the third -highest reported at €32,030, was the only non-Fianna Fáil member in the top ten.

Independent Fianna Fáil TD for Kerry South Jackie Healy-Rae, who received €24,900, was in sixth place, while Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment Micheál Martin was in eighth, disclosing donations worth €22,135. Fianna Fáil’s Áine Brady got a total of €22,000 in ninth place, while FF TD Mattie McGrath received a total of €20,500 and was number 10 on the list.

I’m most surprised at the lack of money raised in an election year by these people. Divide the donations by the number of constituents. Jeez louise. Politicians here have a lot to learn about asking for money from people. Look how much the consumers of Ireland spent on crap last year compared to these tiny amounts of money.

I really do hope this is the last politics post for a while. It’s becoming boring.

“Well End”.
“Well Bert”.
“Fancy a quickie in the Dáil before I go?”
“Taoiseach I’m not going all brokeback Mountain for you, despite that rogue-like charm.”
“I meant the whole questions thing, it’s my last day as Taoiseach in the Dáil before I go off to America. You really did make my job easy, you thicko.”
“Oh feck, yeah I knew that. Yes, of course. What’ll I ask you? Show me the money?”
“Funny”.

So today is the last day for Bertie as Taoiseach in the Dáil. It’s amazing to see that people aren’t paying much attention to him anymore. “Oh you’re still here?” seems to be the attitude. Anyways, I’m sure it’ll be a sad day today and all that and I’m sure that plank Kenny (the other one) will be all nice as pie as Bertie says bye.

But, he could do one more thing today, just one. We all know what is is too:
Bertie, Take Enda With You. Join the Facebook Group too!

And while that’s happening, 40 Take Enda With You badges will be posted to people all over Ireland with a few going to Germany, the States and even Japan. I think Enda would make a better EU President than Bertie any day. Hee Haw Bruton can fill him in on what Europe is like. From his er mansion in Washington.

Maybe he can take Kathleen Lynch too and drop her off at some reality spa.

So apologies to Deputy Gogarty for comments wrongly attributed to him which incorrectly said gay people need to contact the Green Party more to ask for equality. I’ve updated the original blog post.

But good ole Slugger O’Toole take the word of the makers of the heavily edited video of Prionsias de Rossa getting assaulted and decide that he’s a liar, it wasn’t an assault or an attack. Stupid old codger is just old. Oh no, they added a question mark, that’s ok then. Assholes? How very Ron Burgundy.

Prionsias de Rossa is by definition an old man. Whatever his build, (which apparently is crucial for the understanding of what happened) it is ignorant to taunt anyone, let alone a pensioner and if he tripped or was pushed it is a fact that when he fell they didn’t help him up but instead they fucking sat on him and taunted him further. It was an anti-Lisboner too who called the cops over this shameful incident. This of course is left out of the video but many witnesses were there to see it happen. If this was done to any of my grandparents or relations or neighbours I’d go mental.

With the lack of murderers blowing people up in the North, Slugger O’Toole obviously needs to reposition itself but it’s a shame they’ve decided to get all gutterpress about it with the way they presented this to their readership. The Cedars have gone and actually researched who these people are. That’s good blogging but then it is the Cedars, the best political and cultural bloggers we have in Ireland.

Jazz covers this too.

Kathleen should resign over this.

Trevor Casey from Closes Road, Fairhill in Cork was sentenced on Friday to 13 years imprisonment for the rape and sexual assault of the two teenage sisters of his former girlfriend.

The girls were 14 and 17 at the time. The Courts aren’t finished with him yet. He’s up for the sexual assault of another girl too.

Labour TD Kathleen Lynch wrote to the Judge on behalf of his family as did Labour Councillor John Murray. Who fucking cares if his parents are good people. Many evil people have good parents. The parents were not on trial here, their son who raped kids was. There’s war in the Northside of Cork over this with Kathleen Lynch refusing to talk to the press for a long while. It seems Eamonn Gilmore when asked to comment on it would not til he talked to her and said he couldn’t make contact. Then Kathleen released this statement:

I have received a number of queries about a letter I wrote, which was referred to by Mr. Justice Patrick McCarthy when he was today imposing a sentence of 13 years on Trevor Casey for a number of extremely serious sexual offences.

I do not know Treovor Casey personally, as I made clear in the letter. I do know his parents as good and decent people and when his mother asked me to write a letter to this effect, I agreed. It would have been cowardly of me to refuse to do so.

These are horrific offenses, for which Trevor Casey has been found guilty and the judge has imposed what he considered to be the appropriate sentence. I have no issue with the court process or the sentence imposed.

I have always been an advocate of proper support for victims of sexual attacks and believe serious offenders should receive and serve appropriate sentences.

My letter did not and was not intended to understate in any way the offences committed against the two victims in this case. I deeply sympathise with them and hope that in time they will be able to make a full recovery from their ordeal.

Kathleen Lynch T.D

Not good enough. Kathleen Lynch needs to follow what her own party said when Bobby Molloy resigned. Will Brendan Howlin ask Kathleen to resign?

RTE coverage. Breakingnews coverage.

Update: Paul Gogarty has left his version below, which I believe and I’m altering the post to reflect this.

Via email from Deputy Gogarty:

I would suggest that the so-called quote be altered as it is factually incorrect and maliciously slanted. I never said keep putting pressure on the Green Party. ‘They’ refers to Fianna Fail, although the rest of that passage was not what I said.

It’s a bit like Peter Pan isn’t it? Apparently Paul Gogarty of the Green Party told someone that gay people need to make more noise if they want equal rights. He complained not enough gay people have been contacting the Green Party Fianna Fáil conservatives to beg and grovel for equality.

they (Fianna Fáil) as a party have had little input from members of the gay community, and that there has to be pressure from all of us in order for any changes to be made.

So we all clapped harder and louder to help tinkerbell so maybe all the gay people have to work that little bit harder for the hard of hearing Green Party Fianna Fáil. I know LGBT Noise are useless but they do what they say on the tin and Christ almighty David Norris never shuts up. How exactly should the begging letters be addressed to the Government? Glitter envelopes? Fabulous handwriting?

Photo owned by silens (cc)

It was in the Indo so it’s beyond fact.

The young wans in the Green Party are hot for Eamon and the lads are gay for him (in the gay way).

During a discussion on how to attract more young people to the party, Louise Archbold of the Young Greens got a bit frisky. “When all else fails, we just put up some Eamon Ryan posters and watch the girls — and some of the boys — sign up,” she said naughtily.

…

When he was winding up his speech on Saturday, Eamon got a bit passionate. In order to wrap the world in green cloth, he was prepared to take drastic action. “I will take off my jacket. I will take off my shirt!” he announced to a bit of lusty cheering.

Sadly for the womenfolk Eamon kept his shirt on, even when a spot of serious disco shapes were being thrown in the hotel bar late on Saturday night. The minister left the dance floor to vegetable-loving junior minister Trevor Sargent who made like a Mexican jumping bean during ‘Leim Thart’, Des Bishop’s as Gaeilge version of ‘Jump Around’.

Here’s Eamon in all his, er, glory. Of course his Kitt runs on vegetable oil. The fumes after the turbo boost are quite noxious.

God bless you Green Ink.

Check out these Bebo pics, here’s a good one. The puppet is the pink one. Bottom, middle.

(Yes, Labour Kids, you is next)

Uh oh. The UCD All-male Oogling Society aka Students Union have been found out for the women-loving pigdogs they are! Pigdogs I say. Oink oink woof woof.

Photo owned by Photo-Mojo (cc)

Pictured above is one of the lovely ladies that will be taking part in the Miss UCD Beauty Pageant tomorrow. Rounds include:

• Best tea making round.
• The makeup application round which is judged both on depth of makeup as well as orangeyness.
• The sports round which involves hula hooping using your own hoopy earrings.
• The handbag lifting round for those giant handbags.

But women that enter this competition are apparently “sheep” so there will be a protest and an alternative beauty pageant held too. (No, that does not mean a drag queen event, there’s like one of them a week in UCD). We wonder, like men, do real women not wax or shave?

Here’s a quote from the Fundymedia page:

This year see’s the first (and hopefully last!) Miss UCD beauty pageant, sponsored by UCDSU ,alongside trashy tabloids The sun and News of the world. The first Miss UCD takes place on Thursday 17th April. The winner of the ‘competition’ will win automatic entry to Miss Ireland as well as winning beauty makeovers , clothes and a gym membership. Miss Ireland and hence Miss UCD bans all mothers, wives and women under 5’4 from entering.These sexist competitions have no place in Ireland and particularly in UCD. These types of competitions are demeaning and are an excuse for putting sexism on parade They encourage the idea that women should be seen as sex objects to be judged by men, as well as making women believe that to be desirable they have to conform to unrealistic types of ‘beauty’.

To oppose union involvement in Miss UCD, UCD students against sexism are holding a mock Miss UCD beauty pageant where the REAL Miss UCD will be crowned. At the event,which will be held Thurs 17th April at 1 outside the arts block, we will be distributing leaflets to highlight some of the challenges facing women in modern Ireland. There will also be speakers present from the Equality department , the Socialist party and more.
We ask all students and staff from all univeristys who oppose sexism to get involved.Come along on the day,show your support and say NO to sexism!

Tell you what, I will give 100 quid to any man who turns up to it with a “Woman, iron my shirt and make my dinner” placard. Yes it’s been done before but still. Pigdogs!